Personal video recorders (PVR), also known as digital video recorders (DVR), and service provider enabled video-on-demand (VOD) have made it possible to watch television programming with much greater flexibility for the viewer. These technologies give the television viewer the ability to watch the programming whenever the viewer wishes rather than at the normal time that the programming is aired by the television network. Thus, many television viewers have purchased PVR devices to use in conjunction with their cable, satellite, and/or over-the-air television service and/or have subscribed to VOD service.
Typically, the commercial breaks are recorded for playback with PVR devices and/or VOD service. Therefore, the user may watch those commercial breaks while watching the programming at the desired time. However, such recorded programming via the PVR device or VOD service provides the viewer with more advanced functions such as the ability to quickly fast-forward through commercial breaks. For example, many PVR devices allow fast forwarding at a rate of 1 minute of playback time per second. For a three-minute commercial break, the commercial break takes only three seconds to skip. During this three seconds, the viewer is exposed to scattered frames of the commercial break, each scattered frame appearing for only small fraction of a second.
Perhaps the majority of television viewers who use PVR devices or VOD service choose to fast-forward through the commercial breaks and absorb little if any of the commercial content that is present. This is the case because the scattered frames provide just enough visual information for the viewer to recognize when the commercial break has ended and the television show being watched has resumed. This fast-forwarding through commercial breaks poses a substantial problem for advertisers and television networks because the value of the commercial time being purchased by the advertisers is greatly diminished by the fast-forwarding through the commercial break.